Return of the Squash Mother

Remembering this moment, as so magically captured by Todd Pierson (http://www.toddpierson.com/). I was six months pregnant, we had just gotten back from a trip to NJ the day before, and Todd showed up (we'd never met him) to do my portrait for the Return of the Corn Mothers project that my amazing sista Renee was/is putting together.

The light was good in the morning, so up we got, despite my never having been a morning person since birth, and less so as I got bigger and rounder and tireder. Back in the corner of our yard, as far away from the street as you can get, was our new vegetable garden, built up of amazing compost and Toxtli's intense persistence. I found the rose behind my ear among the roses along the side of our yard, but as we shot photos for hours, I held and played with many parts of our garden's late August abundance - different squash and squash flowers I remember particularly. Todd and I both loved this big round squash, how it mirrored my shape and was just so darn cute. As the shoot continued on and on, I got droopy, and rest an arm over the top of my head. "I love it! Work with it!" came from Todd, and suddenly feeling like a supermodel, of the type that would dangle an emaciated arm over my head, I started working it. 

I haven't seen the whole photo shoot of photos yet, but this one came out of it. We'll be going to Phoenix in October to see an opening of Return of the Corn Mothers exhibit there, and witness this piece as part of a beautiful, still evolving whole.